"College is the prime time to meet guys in person"

"I only use dating sites because I'm older"

These are the most common responses I get when people find out that I'm on Tinder.

I get it. It's shady. No one is going to trust a person you just met off the internet.

They could be a murderer, rapist or even a stalker. They probably just want you for sex.

I've heard all these things so many times and I GET IT.

I joined Tinder my freshman year of college and I haven't regretted it since. Sure, I've met my fair share of weirdos who message me, but I've also met some guys who I dated and some that I'm even still friends with. College is the time to try new things and take advantage of everything that is offered to me. I decided to try something new and put myself out there. For someone like me, Tinder gives me a chance to talk to someone without having the anxiety of meeting face to face right away. You can build a connection with someone by just getting to talk to them for a couple weeks before you actually get to meet them. This was the perfect thing for me. I get social anxiety quite easily but with this, I didn't.

With the guys that I met on Tinder, there was a fair share where it didn't end well. Dating someone from Tinder and then being cheated on 2 months later wasn't the goal. Going on a couple dates and then being ghosted wasn't the goal. All the bad experiences made me more careful for the next time and helped me grow as a person.

The negative stigma with online dating is never going to pass. There's always going to be people who would like to meet people the old fashioned way by in person. The times are changing and so are the way we do things. Online dating has changed the way we view a lot in our day to day lives and I'm not gonna stop using it.